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Medical School Resit Policies
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Information for unis A-K and N-Z is up to date as of 4/9/12. Information for unis L-M was was correct when added in 2011, but now may be out of date. If you are unsure or need clarification, contact the medical schools directly.
Resitting modules during years 12 and 13 is usually permitted by medical schools.

Medical School Allow Resits? Extenuating Circumstances Only? Only if Applied There Previously? Any Other Comments?
Aberdeen Yes Yes Very serious personal difficulties at the time of the first sitting must be demonstrated, and these must have been declared and validated at the time of the exam. Appropriate supporting documentation must be supplied from an academic tutor and professional bodies (GP, hospital, etc) to verify the extent of the difficulties and their impact on results. This documentation must be received by the UCAS deadline of October 15th.
Barts and the London No We do not consider applications from candidates who have retaken their ‘A' levels even if with exceptional extenuating circumstances. We do permit resits of AS modules provided these are not taken outwith the 2 years of study.
Birmingham Yes Yes Only those who have achieved less than our standard offer by a small margin the first time round may be considered if there are persuasive mitigating circumstances.
Brighton and Sussex Yes We will ordinarily only consider applications from individuals who have slipped a grade in one subject and obtained a B (plus 2 A grades). You will be required to be predicted, and subsequently to attain, an A in the subject that you are re-taking to be eligible for consideration. Exceptionally, where there are clear and strong mitigating circumstances for the A2 year, the first attempt at the examinations may be set aside, and, as a result, the applicant's re sits will then be assessed as if they were the first attempt . Note that we will require formal evidence in support of any mitigation claimed, in the form of a letter on headed paper sent directly to the admissions office for consideration.
Bristol No We require the A-level grades to be achieved in one sitting and within two years. We accept module re-sits within the two years but not outside of the two years.
Cambridge
Cardiff Yes Yes Yes Exceptional extenuating circumstances must be fully documented and applicant should contact the admissions office before applying. Biology at A2 must be offered with AAAc required. Contact the Admissions Officer for further advice [2012 info - no details on website for 2013 entry]
Dundee No Results should be obtained at one sitting and at the first attempt at A level examinations, two years after GCSE.
Durham
East Anglia Yes Norwich Medical School will consider A-Level resits if grades BBB was obtained at the first sitting. Candidates who are wishing to resit one subject will be required to have predicted A*. Candidates re-sitting two A-Level subjects are required to have predicted grades of A*A. Candidates re-sitting three A-Level subjects are required to have predicted grades of A*AA. Candidates must have a fourth AS or A-Level at Grade B.
Edinburgh Yes Yes (very) Those applying with re-sit qualifications (other than GCE AS Levels) will not be entered into the selection system unless under very exceptional circumstances (for which verified evidence has been provided prior to UCAS application).
Exeter Yes "The University does not discriminate against applicants who have re-taken part or all of a qualification and will treat an achieved or predicted qualification grade in the same way irrespective of whether or not re-takes are involved."
Glasgow No
Hull York Yes Yes We don't normally accept results from resits taken in a third year of post-16 education. But if there were extenuating circumstances at your first attempt (and these were communicated to staff at the responsible educational institution at the time), we will consider documentary evidence of these circumstances, and we might then agree to accept resits on an individual basis.
Imperial Yes Yes Yes Various conditions need to be met: 1) previously applied there, 2) achieved at least grades CCC on first attempt, 3) predictions of AAA in the resit exams, 4) acceptable extenuating circumstances communicated in the referee's statement.
Keele Yes/No We will not consider applications from anybody who is currently re-sitting A-levels or other qualifications required for entry. If you are re-sitting your A-levels – or have taken three years to complete them - you must wait until you have your final grades before applying.
Kings Yes Yes Re-sit applicants are not considered except where there are extenuating circumstances.
Leeds Yes Yes No We would only consider re-sits in exceptional circumstances as we consider such candidates to have a significant advantage in improving their grades. The grades would have to be significantly better along with extenuating circumstances to account for why the appropriate grades were not achieved first time around.
Leicester No Occasionally will accept resit applicants if they held a conditional offer at Leicester before and have major extenuating circumstances. The resit offer is AAA.
Liverpool Yes Yes/No They usually must have achieved a minimum of CCC, AS (B) at first sitting. Resit applicants are usually expected to complete their A2 studies within three years. Applicants who are resitting must include a reflection of this in their personal statement and should mention any extenuating circumstances.
Manchester Yes We would only consider a re-sit application from students who achieved AAB in their previous A2 examinations with exams taken at the same sitting after no more than two years of study. Applicants must present extenuating circumstances. Re-applicants must acknowledge and reflect on the need to re-sit in their personal statement.
Newcastle Yes Yes Must provide information on extenuating circumstances, with supporting evidence from GP or school.
Nottingham No "During your A- level years we will accept one module re-sit in each full A-level subject you are studying. Once you have achieved a grade at A2 we will not accept any further re-sits. If any adverse factors occur during your A-levels, including dyslexia, ill-health or bereavement, you should ensure the relevant examination board is aware of these so they can be taken into consideration when grading your examinations."
Oxford Yes Yes "The University of Oxford offers courses that are academically very demanding and aims to select those students who would best be able to benefit from the challenges they make; this is why we require students to demonstrate that they can cope with the workload of taking three full A-levels (or equivalent) in one academic year (A2 in one year, AS in another one year) and achieve good grades.


Nevertheless, we recognise that students sometimes fail to achieve their potential on first attempt at school because of extreme circumstances beyond their control. Examples would include disruption caused by change of school or system, severe discontinuity of teachers, bereavement and one-off debilitating illness. Under these sorts of extenuating circumstances an applicant resitting A levels might be considered.
We take effort to treat each application individually and would always take such mitigating circumstances into account, if they are brought to our attention: a clear note should be made of these circumstances in the school reference."

Plymouth Yes "We consider re-sit applicants, but the applicant must have obtained at least AAB in their first sitting."
Queen's Belfast Yes Yes "Due to the competition for places the number of offers made to students resitting A-levels has to be restricted. Normally only those who had applied to study Medicine at Queen’s at the first attempt and held an offer (if made) as their conditional firm (CF) choice are considered. In addition they must have achieved AAB+a at first attempt . The offer for repeat candidates is currently AAA at A-level plus A at AS-level. Candidates repeating are expected to retake all examination components of AS and A2 modules associated with the subject being repeated. Only two attempts at A-levels are allowed."
Sheffield No "Unfortunately if you did apply then I am afraid that you would be unsuccessful. It is extremely competitive and most of the people who apply meet the minimum academic requirements. If you do not meet the A Level requirements, you may have to look at doing an alternate degree with a view to applying to Medicine after you graduate."
Southampton Yes Yes, if retaking more than one A level/GCSE "All qualifications must be taken at one sitting for all programmes. Applicants who have retaken one A level and/or one GCSE (or equivalent) will be considered as if they had achieved the appropriate grade at the first sitting. Applicants retaking more than one A level or GCSE will be considered provided there were exceptional circumstances related to the first sitting. If accepted, the offer would be the same as the standard offer for the appropriate programme."
St Andrews Yes Yes "Candidates who take more than the normal number of years to obtain their qualifications will only be considered if there have been extenuating circumstances that are fully documented.

Exceptional circumstances might include, for example, ill health during the final year of study. It might also include attending a school which traditionally has a low number of pupils going on to Higher Education. "

St Georges No "We do not accept candidates who are taking A-Levels over three years but candidates may re-sit modules throughout years 12 and 13."
UCL No "Students who need to resit exams in Years 12 and 13 in order to achieve the required grades may struggle subsequently on our programme. Resits of January exams the following June are permitted, but we would suggest that candidates who need to resit examinations in order to achieve the required grades may not be well-prepared for our programme."

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